55 / 2019-07-30 18:50:20

An Overview on Development of Chinese Fruit and Vegetable Precooling Equipment and Technology

fruit and vegetable,forced air precooling,vacuum precooling,hydrocooling,ice slurry precooling,technology

全体主题 > 预冷工艺及设备

The development of Chinese fruit and vegetable precooling equipment and technology is investigated in this paper. In the past, due to the slow and imperfect development of food cold chain, China's food, especially fruits and vegetables, suffered serious losses and waste, and it is difficult to ensure food safety. In recent decades, with the rapid development of economy in China, people's living standard has been improved, so that people's demand for quantity and quality of food are higher than ever before. As a big producer and consumer of fruits and vegetables in the world, it is urgent for China to develop fruit and vegetable cold chain, which can ensure products quality and reduce losses. Fruit and vegetable cold chain includes all steps of postharvest fruits and vegetables from field to table. The Chinese government attaches great importance to the development of cold chain, has formulated relevant plans, promulgated relevant policies and provided research funds to support the development and application of equipment and technology in cold chain. However, the top priority of developing fruit and vegetable cold chain is to develop precooling equipment and technology. As the first one kilometer in cold chain of postharvest fruits and vegetables, precooling is an essential step for the preservation of postharvest fruits and vegetables. Precooling can help remove the field heat of fruits and vegetables after harvest, slow down the respiration rate, reduce the release of ethylene and inhibit the growth of microorganisms, thus maintain the quality of product and extend their shelf life. Appropriate precooling will not only reduce food losses and waste, but also reduce the energy consumption during cold chain. In the last ten or twenty years, the development of precooling equipment and technology for fruits and vegetables in China has been accelerating, with a lot of achievements and many practical applications. In this paper, the development and the application of Chinese fruit and vegetable precooling equipment, technology, facilities as well as patents are firstly summarized, including forced air precooling, vacuum precooling, hydrocooling, ice slurry precooling and so on. The regulations and standards relating to Chinese fruit and vegetable precooling are presented, and several problems regarding the existing standards on Chinese fruit and vegetable precooling are listed. The government has issued a number of policies and provided funds to support the development and application of precooling equipment and technology for fruits and vegetables in China, and some of these policies been implemented while others have not yet to be fully implemented. Some important research projects on precooling equipment and technology of fruits and vegetables in China in recent years are also briefly introduced. Many research institutes such as the Vegetable Research Center of Beijing Academy of Agriculture and Forestry Sciences focus on the technology and equipment development of fruit and vegetable precooling, have done lots of national research projects on precooling facilities and developed different precooling devices, which promotes the industrialization development and application of fruit and vegetable precooling equipment in China. Also, some enterprises have developed and made vacuum precooling equipment and put them into practical applications. In addition, the development orientation of Chinese fruit and vegetable precooling equipment and technology is indicated combining with the policy background of green and efficient refrigeration action plan and developing cold chain to promote consumption upgrading. In the end, according to the existing problems in the field, some corresponding suggestions are presented to provide a reference for the further research and the development of precooling equipment and technology.